Training at Home vs the Gym

We all want to achieve a healthy lifestyle and part of that is exercise. Exercising is a smart move, especially if you want to lose weight and improve your overall health. Creating a regular exercise routine can be relatively simple but the question is, which is more effective, training at home or in a gym?

The main excuse I hear from clients is that they don’t have the time to exercise or they don’t have to money to go to a gym so today I am here to share with you the advantages and disadvantages of both options.

Before you decide whether a home or a membership gym is right for you, take a look at the following factors:

Your fitness needs.

The type of workout that you want.

Your budget.

The amount of space you are willing to provide for your home gym equipment.

At Home?

What are the benefits to working out at home?

At home, you can enjoy your privacy. You don’t have to sweat it out in full view of a group of strangers and if you are a mum (like me) you can do it while your kids play or better yet include them in your workouts.

You can work out any time you like. You don’t have wait until the gym opens and hurry out when it is about to close for the day.

You don’t have to go outdoors especially when the weather is bad to get to the gym.

You can tailor your home gym to meet your specific fitness needs.

A home gym is usually less expensive than a gym membership.

You can make no excuse not to be able to exercise because the gym is right where you are – at home.

You can easily search for workouts on YouTube or use DVD’s.

If you have finally decided that a home gym is the best for you, you will need to decide if you want to purchase home gym equipment like a treadmill or weight machines or if you want to work with what you have around the house. When I first started out I purchased a few dumbbells from Kmart and a yoga mat and built my way up from there as I got stronger. I now have a variety of weights, kettlebells, medicine balls and pull up equipment.

One negative aspect of a home gym is that you do not have access to fitness professionals who can help you learn to use the equipment and develop an exercise routine that is best for you.

However, you can hire a personal trainer for a session or two just to help you get started on your exercise routine. If you are looking for great home workout I highly recommend Holly Rigsby at Fit Yummy Mummy. It was through Holly’s training that I lost over 31 kilos after the birth of my son. I will share more on that in a future post.

A Gym?

What are the benefits to working out at a gym?

The home gym is the runaway winner when it comes to cost but a gym memberships come with several perks that you will not have at home.

You can get a workout in on your lunch break or squeeze in a quality weight session before or after work.

There are fitness professionals on hand if you get stuck and can offer advice on certain exercises.

They have fitness classes and you have to agree, it is very encouraging to really push your limits when you are in a room full of strangers.

Some gyms may even offer spa services and that would be very difficult to duplicate at home.

Gyms come with complete exercise facilities, something that you would not be able to fit at home.

At the end of the day, it is up to your budget and preferences as to whether you would go for the home gym or the membership gym. At the end of the day as long as you are moving your body a little every day then you are making positive steps in creating a healthy lifestyle.